West Ham United are remaining ‘hopeful’ of signing Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana on a free transfer from the Reds in the summer.
According to Claret and Hugh, David Moyes’ outfit is lining up a swoop for the Englishman and are somewhat confident of securing the player.
Reportedly, the 32-year-old’s future at Anfield has been ‘on hold’ for some time but it has now been confirmed he will be ending his six-year association with the Reds at the end of this campaign.
Furthermore, the player’s wages, should he sign for West Ham, will be freed up by the departures of both Pablo Zabaleta and Carlos Sanchez.
As stated in Claret and Hugh‘s report, Lallana is ‘fancied by a number of clubs’ and Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City also looks like a ‘possible destination’ for the player.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that the Englishman had signed a short-term contract extension to stay with the Reds until the end of the season as his previous deal was set to end on 30th June (per BBC).
TIF Thoughts…
While Lallana on a free transfer from Liverpool may initially appear to be a good move for the Hammers, his statistics may suggest otherwise.
This season, the Englishman has been the fifth-worst performer for Jurgen Klopp’s side with a weak 6.34/10 average rating (per WhoScored).
If Lallana was to have earned the same average rating for the Irons in the Premier League this term, he would be the club’s sixth-worst performer (per WhoScored).
Would you be pleased if West Ham signed Adam Lallana on a free transfer from Liverpool?Yes, would be a great idea
No, he's not good enough
|
In comparison with one of the Hammers’ current midfielders, too, Lallana again looks like a weak acquisition.
For West Ham this season, Manuel Lanzini has made 1.5 key passes, 35.1 total passes and has a passing success of 86.3% per league game on average (per WhoScored).
Liverpool’s midfielder, however, has made 0.3 key passes, 17.7 total passes and has a passing success of 85.7% per league game on average (per WhoScored).
So, Lallana on a free transfer may not be as impressive a signing as it may first appear to be.